


Morning Mud

by nonbinary_name



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Beau is sleepy, Beauregard Lionett Deserves Nice Things, Breauregard, Coffee, Early Mornings, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Just Bros, Mentioned Empire Siblings, Slice of Life, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:35:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25579678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nonbinary_name/pseuds/nonbinary_name
Summary: Beau wakes up early feeling a little out of sorts. Fjord looks after her and makes sure she knows the Mighty Nein loves her.Just a friends being friends fic
Relationships: Fjord & Beauregard Lionett
Comments: 8
Kudos: 65





	Morning Mud

**Author's Note:**

> This is a desperately overdue story for my buddy and I hope he likes it.  
> Sorry for taking forever and a day.

Early summer meant gods-awful early sunrises.

The dome protected the party from wayward dangers as well as from burning heat and biting cold, but Beau still found herself awaking to a dulled yet still _piercing_ ray of light. She groaned quietly before tossing over onto her side, unsure whether she really wanted to try getting any more shut-eye.

It was way too early to get up and she knew it. But her sleep hadn’t been exactly restful either. Maybe facing the day a little exhausted was better than facing more disparate, anxiety dreams.

Resolving to get up, Beauregard pulled herself into some semblance of a sitting position before tiredly tying her hair back and knuckling her eyes harshly. Maybe if she was rough on them, she’d wake up faster.

No such luck so far.

She stood with a frustrated huff and exited the dome, the only disturbance left in her wake being a particularly aggressive snore from Caduceus turning over in his sleep.

Now out in the open air, Beau could tell they had another hot day ahead of them. She went off a short ways, just far enough to stay within the dome’s sights but hopefully far enough to not upset her friends’ slumber with her morning workout. 

This was likely a wise decision as her joints were making all the _Pop! Pop!_ s she would hopefully need for the entirety of the day. It wasn’t like her to complain- and if any of her friends inquired, she’d surely swat them off- but the truth was that she was feeling ragged: Over-stretched like someone had taken a rolling pin and tried rolling her brains out into a quarter-inch sheet for baking.

She sat down, meaning to just catch her breath for a moment, but gave up on the idea almost immediately, lying down right where she sat in the dirt. It was dusty and she could feel the ground sticking to her from the sweat of her workout and the already climbing heat. She grimaced at the sensation but made no attempts to move or get more comfortable.

Maybe she could manage to get just a little more rest, even like this.

Beau closed her eyes, attempting to find some relief in the liminal space between meditation and a cat-nap. She lay there with her arm covering her eyes for an indeterminate amount of time. 

It certainly didn’t feel any longer than another five minutes but she came-to to the feeling of a boot nudging her leg and when she opened her eyes, the morning sky was noticeably brighter.

Fjord was standing over her, looking amused but perplexed.

“You doing all right out here?” He bent down and offered her a hand up. She took it, standing and starting to pat the dust off her pants. 

“You know,” Fjord continued, “He’d deny it if you asked him, but you nearly gave Caleb a heart attack when we all woke up and you were gone.”

Beau pulled a face at that.

“I was just trying to get an early start to the day and then I took a little break, is all. He worries too much.”

“He does.” Fjord agreed with a nod but he was still looking her over with an air of suspicion. “Are you feeling all right? I mean, you look like a mourning dove taking a dirt bath out here.”

She groaned petulantly.

“I’m _fine_ ,” she emphasized. “I’m a dope monk with dope monk shit. You can feed me poison and I’ll go back for seconds. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“Right.” He started brushing some of the dirt off her shoulders and back.

Beau could’ve batted him away but honestly, having the help was kinda nice. That thought was exactly as far as she’d allow herself, though, before finally pulling away after Fjord finished with one last pat.

“Caduceus has coffee going on the fire- _not_ poisoned, which I hope won’t be too much of a disappointment to you.” He cracked a smile at her and she relented, letting her own smile break-through, too, while she re-tied her hair back into place.

“I mean, I guess I could go for some regular, non-poisoned coffee this morning if you are.”

“Yep! You know me: Two sugars, hold the milk and poison.”

Beau gave his shoulder a quick, friendly jab.

“ _Oof_ , you know, I think you always manage to hit the exact same spot every time you do that. Pretty sure I’ve got a forever-bruise going there.”

“You’ll live,” she smirked back at him.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll live.”

They made their way back to the group and grabbed two steaming mugs before promptly retreating from the added heat of the fire. Beau gave a non-committal wave to Caleb who was trying to look _not-_ worried back at her, unsuccessfully-so. Still, he managed an equally cool and, supposedly, emotionally-distant Good Morning wave.

Fjord and Beau sat on a fallen and rotted-out tree, their backs to the sun, which was already beating down on them fiercely.

They were quiet for a bit before Fjord groused at the heat.

“You know, in Port Damali they serve coffee in ice so it’s not like you’re drinking liquid magma on top of having the sun pissing on you directly.”

Beau laughed.

“I guess you should start carrying ice around in the bag of holding, then, if you’re just going to complain about it.”

Fjord paused his retort, thinking for a second.

“That wouldn’t work, would it?”

“Uhh…? Probably not? I don’t think, at least,” she said, suddenly unsure. “That’s probably a question for Caleb.”

“ _Yes!_ Caleb: Our Wizard of Wizardly magics and… Wizarding,” Fjord dropped lamely.

Beau nodded, side-eyeing Fjord and now completely lost with where he was going with this.

He cleared his throat.

“Uh, you know, Caleb is pretty puny- and trust me, I know, seeing as how I was also, _formerly_ ,” he punctuated, “a puny guy.”

“R-right?”

“But, _Yasha-_ well, she’s about as beefy as anyone around can get.”

“Yeah? Where are you going with this, Fjord?”

“I’m just… trying to say that if Yasha was hurt or sick or needed a break, or if Caleb did, or Jester, or me, or _any_ of us- then we’d take a break, you know? And look after them and make sure they’re OK.”

“Oh, _gods_ , Fjord. _Really?_ Is this really what we’re doing today?”

“Look, I’m just saying- you’re important: to all of us. You’re important and it’s OK if you’re not firing on all cylinders all the time.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, me neither. I just thought it sounded cool.”

“Canon.”

“Why do we say that again?”

“I dunno, but it’s fun.”

“Canon.”

She laughed and Fjord broke into a fit of giggles, too.

“No, no,” he struggled to catch his breath. 

“But I’m being serious. We’re family. And that’s a **_We’re_ ** family, meaning you’re family, too. And, _yes_ , you’re a dope monk with dope monk shit. No one denies that! You’re almost definitely the most capable of any of us, but even _you_ have your limits. And I’d hate for you to get hurt because you pushed yourself too hard when we all could’ve just slowed down for a breather.”

Beau listened, quietly. 

Her mug shook a little in her grip. She steadied it, holding it between both hands and doing her best to not clench around it white-knuckled. 

The words were difficult to hear but she steadied her breathing and let them wash over her. Fjord was telling her everything opposite to what her past had so painfully and _repeatedly_ beaten into her.

She wasn’t sure she was ready for his words but she wasn’t going to run away from them either. Not today, she decided.

They sat in silence for a long while after Fjord finished, just sipping their coffees and trying to wake up properly for the day ahead.

“Thanks, Captain,” was all that Beau mumbled when she finally finished the last dregs of her cup.


End file.
